All Squared Away?: An Examination of
Millennials’ Use of Structure in the Workplace
Charlotte Bolch, Hannah Ehlenfeldt, Alondra Lopez, Ashley Menzel, and Emily Van Essen
St. Olaf College
Sociology/Anthropology
Fall Semester 2011
Acknowledgements: A special thank you to Ryan Sheppard for her consistent guidance and support, Nathan Soland for help with
alumni relations, Dana Goetsch for answering our many questions, and Susan Canon for help with sampling.
Abstract
Recent literature suggests Millennials—people born after 1980—prefer a more structured work
environment compared to Generation X and Baby Boomers, and this may cause
intergenerational tension in the workplace. To investigate this dynamic further, we analyzed the
use and perceptions of structure-providing items such as calendars and checklists. We
surveyed a random sample of undergraduates and alumni from a small liberal arts college in the
Midwest and tested the hypotheses: 1) Millennials prefer more structure in the workplace
compared to Generation X and Baby Boomers; 2) Generation X and Baby Boomers perceive
Millennials as needing more structure in the workplace compared to what Millennial students
and Millennials in the workplace believe they need.
Review of Literature
A new generation of young workers is entering the workplace and piquing the interest
of society and social scientists. This generation is the Millennials. Born after 1980, Millennials
are the most recent group to join today’s workforce (Taylor and Keeter 2010). Although
Millennials are strictly defined by the period in which they were born (Smola and Sutton 2002),
they share similar characteristics and values. As a generation, Millennials are characterized as
team oriented, multitasking, entitled, optimistic, and civic minded. They seek work-life balance
and career advancement (Alsop 2008). As Millennials start to enter the workplace, supervisors
and executives are looking to see how they will interact with older generations.
These older generations include Generation X, known as GenXers, and Baby Boomers.
Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, (Taylor and Keeter 2010) are seen as
workaholics and idealists who are competitive and loyal (Alsop 2008). Boomers are the parents
of Millennials, as well as the ones who are currently hiring them into the workforce. GenXers
were born between 1965 and 1980 (Taylor and Keeter 2010); literature characterizes them as
self-reliant, adaptable, cynical, distrusting of authority, resourceful, and entrepreneurial (Alsop
2008).
The presence of Millennials, GenXers, and Baby Boomers in the same work
environment is causing intergenerational relations to become a hot topic of research and
discussion. This is a relatively new area of study and researchers are investigating topics such
as social responsibility (Taylor and Keeter 2010; Twenge, Campbell, Hoffman, and Lance
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2010), helicopter parents (Gardner 2007; Eisner 2005), need for feedback, need for structure,
work-life balance (Cennamo and Gardner 2008; Ng, Schweitzer, and Lyons 2010; Myers and
Sadaghiani 2010), technology (Barzilai-Nahon and Mason 2010; Judd and Kennedy 2011;
Taylor and Keeter 2010; Westlake 2008), and hiring, promotion, and progress (Dries,
Pepermans, and De Kerpel 2008; De Hauw and De Vos 2010; Kowske, Rasch, and Wiley
2010). Our research will focus specifically on Millennials and structure.
Popular literature claims Millennials prefer a work environment that provides explicit
direction, consensus, and feedback. They often struggle with critical-thinking and ambiguity, and
they hesitate to take risks. Millennials may rise to the occasion, but they need things like
checklists, mentoring, and clear goals in order to reach their potential (Alsop 2008). This is the
conception of structure that our study will focus on when examining Millennials’ “need for
structure”. As Millennials start to work alongside older generations of GenXers and Baby
Boomers, this need for structure has become a persistent source of tension. Alsop noted
business managers often feel as though Millennials need more “hand holding,” and Millennials
have trouble taking responsibility for projects. Executives fear this will jeopardize Millennials’
ability to become effective leaders and thrive within a changing work environment. In response,
some business schools have tried to challenge students with open-ended problem solving
(2008). It remains to be seen whether their efforts will translate to the workplace.
Influence of Education on Millennial Preferences and Expectations
Millennials are on track to be one of the most highly educated and tech-oriented
generations in history. Advancement in technology has allowed them to connect to the world
24/7, and they view technology as an integral part of their educational and personal lives. While
some critics believe this has led Millennials to become entitled, coddled, lazy, and rude (Claps
2008), researchers largely agree that things like government programs and parental guidance
have accustomed Millennials to living and learning in a structured environment. This has led
Millennials to use structure as a critical tool for success.
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In 1983, parent-initiated educational reform led to a demand for higher literacy rates and
standardized test scores. This caused an increase in the regulation of school curricula, initiating
the “teach to the test” phenomenon where teachers’ syllabi are directly linked to subjects that
will be on standardized tests (Hershatter and Epstein 2010). This change in classroom structure
has prompted Millennials’ reliance on guidelines and deadlines. Alsop observes the similar need
for guidelines in the college setting. College professors note that their students seek clarity and
detail in their course assignments and complain about ambiguous instructions or expectations
(2008). This aversion to ambiguity carries over into the workplace after students graduate. One
of the main issues employers may face in working with Millennials is role ambiguity, defined as
the lack of clear role expectation. Results from a study on Millennial workers with retail
experience indicated that role ambiguity negatively affected job satisfaction (Kim, Knight, and
Crutsinger 2009).
Millennials have developed an expectation of acknowledgement for their
accomplishments that stems from loving parents and dependence on detailed guidance by their
educators (Hershatter and Epstein 2010). Students have become more self-confident; this
confidence, in turn, has led to an increase in self-esteem and narcissism. This self-perception is
one of the reasons why employees have extremely high expectations for both themselves and
the company (Twenge and Campbell 2008; Merlino 2008). With this rise of high expectations in
the workplace, Twenge and Campbell state that self-evaluations will become less useful and
over-reward people who are confident rather than competent (2008). Managers in the workplace
will need to decide how to manage these Millennials that see themselves as superior and rate
themselves higher on performance.
Group projects and presentations are frequently assigned by teachers in school and
have become valued by Millennials in the workplace (Ng et. al. 2010). The interactions that
occur during these group tasks help create and maintain relationships amongst organization
members; without well-maintained relationships lower productivity may result (Myers and
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Sadaghiani 2010). According to popular literature, Millennials prefer working in groups because
it makes work more pleasurable and distributes responsibility (Alsop 2008). Additionally, Alsop
suggests Millennials enjoy working in groups because they dislike taking risks (2008). This
comfort in group work could also be related to the familiarity in the style of assignment--similar
to their school days. With the extra practice of group work during the school year, Millennials,
when compared to previous generations, are more comfortable in this type of situation (Myers
and Sadaghiani 2010).
Millennials as Collaborators
Millennials fear risk-taking and struggle when managers assign projects that do not have
explicit instructions or well-defined criteria (Claps 2008, Hershatter and Epstein 2010). They
value consensus and prefer to work in teams that can provide support; as a generation, the
Millennials are the “great collaborators” (Lancaster and Stillman 2010). A study done in
Australia even suggested Millennials may be more motivated when they work in an atmosphere
that includes personal interaction (Wong, Gardiner, Lang, and Coulon. 2008). Because of this
affinity for group work, some employers question this generation’s ability to become effective
leaders (Alsop 2008).
Millennials have been coached all of their lives, and they expect the same in the
workplace (Lancaster and Stillman 2010). They desire close relationships with supervisors and
expect feedback and open communication. Millennials grew up with friendship-style parenting,
and as result, they feel comfortable forming friendships with other adults (Myers and Sadaghiani
2010, Ng et. al. 2010). Bransford found Millennials preferred charismatic and servant leadership
to ideological and pragmatic leadership styles. This suggests they value executives that
promote individual and group goals or that embody an example to imitate (2011). Other studies
have noted GenXers feel that Millennials are in search of role models and look to
managers/supervisors for knowledge (Gursoy, Maler, and Chi 2008). Increasing contact and
building relationships between younger and older generations can lead to a decrease in tension
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between these two groups as well as more positive attitudes (2008). However, mentors that use
coaching strategies must be wary of nagging their employees or of falling into the trap of acting
like their parents (Lancaster and Stillman 2010). While coaching can help Millennials adapt to
the workplace, “parenting” can blur boundaries and become a burden for both parties.
Workplace Policies and Evaluations
Millennials struggle to find a balance or middle ground between structure and flexibility.
In order to find a middle ground between flexibility and structure, managers must let Millennials
feel a sense of autonomy but clearly communicate objectives of the work that needs to be done
(Gursoy et. al. 2008, Kim et. al. 2009). For Millennials, this middle ground could be policies that
provide organization but that also leave room for development. Millennials experience stress
and tension when they feel they lack information about their expectations (Kim et. al. 2009). For
executives and managers, this middle ground could be policies that keep Millennials on track
but leave room for some autonomy and creativity. With too much direction, businesses face the
danger of stifling the ingenuity of the younger generation (Alsop 2008). Some organizations are
implementing top-down strategies in which executives dictate the boundaries, goals, and
outcomes of work projects (Barzilai-Nahon and Mason 2010). While this seems it would provide
the structure that Millennials desire, management literature indicates that top-down strategies
may be ineffective in the long run because they can alienate younger employees (Pascale and
Sternin 2005). Instead, executives might try to nurture autonomy by defining goals and judging
by results rather than micro-managing every step (Barzilai-Nahon and Mason 2010).
Supervisors are able to accommodate Millennials’ desire for clear objectives through
work evaluations and through assessing how the employee fits into the company (Myers and
Sadaghiani 2010). Evaluations are one way supervisors are able to keep open communication
with their Millennial employees, something Millennials value in the workplace (2010). Millennials
can then use these evaluations as a guideline for expected work behavior. According to Alsop, if
the evaluation is negative, the supervisor should be careful presenting it, as Millennials are
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fragile and may get emotional. Millennials are also considered to be goal-oriented and may take
a negative evaluation as a “goal” to overcome (2008).
Although many studies relate to Millennials’ need for structure, minimal research exists
specifically on this work-structure phenomenon. Using popular ideas about how Millennials
relate to structure, we constructed an empirical study that surveyed current students and alumni
from a small liberal arts college in rural Minnesota. Our research examines what kind of
structure-providing items generations feel are important in organizing their time at work and the
perceptions of Millennials’ need for structure in the workplace.
Methods
We conducted survey research during November of 2011 that examined a random
sample of Generation X, Baby Boomer, and Millennial alumni from a private liberal arts college
in the Midwest, as well as current junior and senior Millennial students. Survey research
enabled us to reach a relatively large population and conduct research within a limited time
frame. This method was cost-effective and efficient, and responses were easy to code for
analysis. We investigated the following hypotheses: 1) Millennials prefer more structure in the
workplace compared to Generation X and Baby Boomers; 2) Generation X and Baby Boomers
perceive Millennials as needing more structure in the workplace compared to what Millennial
students and Millennials in the workplace report themselves as needing.
We created an online survey using the program Form Creator. This program provided a
template of a survey design that enabled us to input headings, directions, questions, and
response categories related to our topic. This Form Creator survey allowed us to view the
responses of our participants without being able to connect names to the specific responses.
Fellow researchers from our Sociology/Anthropology Research Methods class, who also
examined Millennial habits in relation to the workplace, combined their survey questions with
ours to create an overall survey about structure, feedback, and personal communication. We
sent a cover letter with login information to access the survey online to the following three
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groups: current junior and senior Millennial students, recent Millennial alumni in the workplace,
and GenXers/Boomers.
Variables
For all three hypotheses, we examined differences between GenXers/Boomers and
Millennials. Because we examined the differences across generations, the independent variable
was the generational category. We determined this from the demographic section of our survey
where we asked respondents their class graduation year or current student status. We inferred
age from graduation year and then categorized these responses according to the age ranges
that we defined for each generation, as previously defined in our literature review. Our
independent variables were therefore nominal variables because they measured something that
was discrete and representative of a classification (Nardi 2006).
For our first hypothesis—that Millennials use more structure in the workplace compared
to Generation X and Baby Boomers—our dependent variable was use of structure. We define
structure as the structure/organizational items used to organize daily life such as
calendars/planners, checklists, and post-it notes and assistance with work tasks. To measure
this variable, we asked all generations to respond to a series of Likert-scale statements. We
used the following response categories for each statement: “Strongly Agree,” “Somewhat
Agree,” “Somewhat Disagree,” and “Strongly Disagree.” An example of one of the three
statements is, “Using a calendar/planner (electronic or paper) is important for organizing my
work tasks.” This dependent variable was an ordinal measure because each value increased in
equal segments (Nardi 2006). Because these Likert-scale statements appeared on all three of
the surveys, we were able to compare the self-reported use of structure between each
generational category.
For our second hypothesis—Generation X and Baby Boomers perceive Millennials as
needing more structure in the workplace compared to what Millennial students and Millennials in
the workplace believe they need—our dependent variable was perception of preference for
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structure. We created an index composed of a series of five Likert-scale statements in order to
measure this variable. An index is a series of similar statements that measure a unified concept
(Nardi 2006). We used the same response categories as in the questions about use of
structure. Our statements examined multiple aspects of Millennial use of guidance in workplace
situations. These included statements like, “Using my calendar or planner is important for
organizing my work tasks” and “I need an outline of job expectations.” We then coded these
responses into an index score by adding together all the responses on each question to create
an interval/ratio measurement. Because we did not reverse word any of our statements there
was no reason to reverse code our variables. In addition to our index, we asked two questions
about group work designed to measure Millennial preference for structure. Because we still
used the same four response categories (“Strongly Agree” to “Strongly Disagree”) these
questions were ordinal measures.
Validity
We tried to achieve validity by ensuring that our measures were accurate and asked about
the key components of the research topic (Nardi 2006). The two main ways we assessed
measurement validity were face validity and content validity. To achieve face validity—that the
measures appear to be eliciting what we desire them to—we analyzed our questions, asking
ourselves and an experienced researcher whether it appeared our measures would yield the
kind of opinions and behaviors we were seeking to explore. To achieve content validity—
assuring that all aspects of our conceptual definition were measured—we asked ourselves
whether our questions covered the different dimensions of structure we identified. We used
feedback from our peer focus groups, from informal interviews with GenXers and Boomers, and
from an experienced researcher, enabling us to construct accurate measures. They provided us
with feedback on whether our questions were clear and understandable and gave us advice for
improving our questions. Conducting a focus group allowed us to refine our questions and to
target specific attitudes or behaviors of Millennials and GenXers/Boomers regarding use of
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structure in the workplace.
Reliability
Reliability refers to consistent, similar results that should occur if the same measure is
used again in the future (Nardi 2006). We promoted reliability in several ways: using specific
and clear conceptual definitions and ensuring that all statements were mutually exclusive and
exhaustive. We constructed a definition of structure consisting of two parts: 1) the structureproviding items used to organize daily life such as calendars/planners, checklists, and post-it
notes and 2) assistance and deadline reminders used to complete a task. We established this
definition with the help of focus group input on what participants considered as structureproviding items and what they needed in the form of structure to complete a task. By
constructing a specific and clear definition of structure we ensured reliability.
We also promoted reliability by using an index. An index compiles similar items within a
questionnaire to see if parallel items yield similar results (Nardi 2006). Examples of items from
our GenXer/Boomer index included: “Millennials need an outline of job expectations” and
“Millennials need to be reminded of deadlines.” If many participants responded to both
statements with “Strongly Agree”, this would indicate that GenXers/Boomers perceive
Millennials as using more structure in the workplace. To insure consistent, comparable results
from our three random samples, we made sure our survey questions used similar sentence
structure. For example, we changed the wording in the Millennial surveys to read: “I need an
outline of job expectations” and “I need to be reminded of deadlines.”
Lastly, we safeguarded reliability by asking questions that have mutually exclusive and
exhaustive response categories. We used the highest level of measurement possible by basing
the answers to our survey statements on a four-point Likert scale. In striving to be exhaustive
and mutually exclusive, each survey statement provided the following response categories:
“Strongly Agree”, “Somewhat Agree”, “Somewhat Disagree”, or “Strongly Disagree”. We used
four response options because too many options would require participants to make inaccurate
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distinctions that would not be consistent across the sample population (Patten 2001). This list
was exhaustive because it included all possible feelings about the statements, and it was
mutually exclusive because participants’ views could not fit under more than one category
(Nardi 2006). Therefore, we felt that a four-point scale was the most accurate way to measure
our statements of varying attitudes and behaviors. We pre-tested our survey questions by
talking to our focus group participants, interview respondents, and fellow researchers from our
class. This information was used to change the wording of a few items in our survey, clarify
directions, and tweak topic headings.
Sampling and Sampling Procedure
We drew samples from three target populations: junior and senior undergraduates at a
private liberal arts college in the Midwest, GenXer and Boomer alumni between the graduation
years 1964 and 2000, and Millennial alumni between the graduation years 2001 and 2011,
excluding those who listed their occupation as volunteer, homemaker, military service,
unemployed, or retired. Since the sample was relatively homogeneous, the preferences and the
attitudes we measured were likely to occur in our population. Therefore a relatively small
sample size was sufficient to obtain a representative sample (Nardi 2006). However, our sample
size needed to be large enough to compare our subgroups of GenXer/Boomer alumni, Millennial
alumni, and current junior and senior students. With a sampling frame of roughly 1,500 junior
and senior students, we applied the rule of thumb method to determine what our sample size
should be for this group. For populations that are less than 1,000, the rule of thumb states that
the sampling size should be 30 percent; therefore, we estimated that our target population
should be approximately 25 to 30 percent of our overall population (Neuman 2007). Based on
past surveys conducted by SO/AN 371 researchers the response rate was usually around 50
percent, so we chose to double the sample size. This works to ensure that our sample size is
large enough to be representative of the population as a whole. We used simple random
sampling so each member of the population had an equal chance of being selected which
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enabled us to provide an accurate representation of the population (Patten 2001). Before we
created our target population, we chose to exclude students participating in other surveys,
students who participated in our focus group, part-time students, first year and sophomore
students, students currently enrolled in our research methods class, and students currently
studying abroad. The Director of Institutional Research at the college completed the sampling
process for us.
849 GenXer/Boomer alumni, 513 Millennial alumni, and 648 students received an e-mail
inviting them to participate in our research. GenXer/Boomers received the survey on November
3, 2011, Millennial alumni received the survey on November 1, 2011, and current students
received the survey on November 8, 2011. Both alumni surveys closed on November 11, 2011,
and the student survey closed on November 13, 2011. Participation in the survey was voluntary,
and we provided incentives for students to increase our response rate. After completing the
survey, student participants had the option to enter their name in a drawing for gift certificates to
the school bookstore. We did not provide incentives for alumni, but we encouraged alumni to
help current members of their alma mater. To try to increase the response rate, half way
through our response period, we sent a reminder e-mail encouraging participation in our survey.
92 Millennial Alumni responded giving us a response rate of 17.9%; 27.2% male and 72.8%
female. 257 students responded, giving us a response rate of 39.6%. Of the student
respondents 44.7% were juniors and 53.7% were seniors; 29.6% male, 70% female, and
0.004% other. 126 GenXer/Boomer alumni responded, giving us a response rate of 14.8%. Of
the respondents, 66.2% were members of the Baby Boomer generation and 33.9% were
members of Generation X; 54% were male and 68% were female.
Ethics
According to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at a small liberal arts college in the
Midwest, research that deals with human subjects needs to follow important principles such as
respect for persons, respect for privacy before, during, and after the survey, and obtaining
12
informed consent. The rules established by the IRB require that researchers ensure voluntary
and informed participation and that researchers provide the appropriate protection for subjects
(IRB 2004). In addition to ensuring voluntary and informed participation, we needed to get Type
I IRB approval from the college. Type I approval requires that the main purpose of the project is
to advance the knowledge and understanding of the investigator and other members of the
college (IRB 2010). We will not be able to generalize our results to populations outside of the
college because we limited our sample populations to the college’s community.
One of our main ethical concerns was to ensure that respondent privacy was upheld. We
did this by ensuring the identity of our respondents could not be linked to their answers.
Although our research was not highly sensitive, we wanted to make sure that no respondent’s
personal information would be made public. We guaranteed anonymity by using randomized,
computer-generated sampling, and by excluding any questions that asked for explicit identifying
information beyond what was necessary for our study. We never received the list of people in
our sample only email aliases created by the director of the IRB. In the e-mails asking people to
participate, we informed students and alumni that all of their responses would remain
anonymous. With the incentive of prize drawings, we could not avoid learning the identities of
the respondents who chose to participate in the drawing. However, in this situation we still had
no way of linking any one student to a particular response.
We also faced the ethical issue of ensuring that we received informed consent from all
participants of our survey. Informed consent means that the participants volunteer to participate
out of their own personal free will with full knowledge of what the survey entails (Nardi
2006). We sent a cover letter via e-mail to our samples informing them about our survey and
asking them to participate. This included information about the length of the survey, the
research topics, and the time and date of poster sessions when participants and the general
public could learn about the results. In addition, we informed participants that logging into Form
Creator indicated their consent to participate. None of our participants were under the age of
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eighteen therefore they did not need to receive parental consent to participate in our survey. We
informed them that there were no repercussions for people who did not wish to complete all or
parts of the survey. This information allowed prospective participants to evaluate the personal
risk associated with our survey, guaranteeing that they took part at their own free will.
Lastly, there was the potential for emotional stress, even if unintentional, to occur as a
result of questions asked in the survey. To reduce the potential stress, we gave participants
introductory information about the research. We informed them that they were able to leave the
survey whenever they wished; there was no obligation to complete the survey. In addition, we
constructed questions that would hopefully not cause more stress than a participant would face
in their daily life.
Results
To test our hypotheses of whether older generations and younger generations use
structure differently in the workplace we conducted statistical analysis using a Chi-Square test
and an ANOVA test. We hypothesized that Millennials prefer more structure in the workplace
compared to GenXers/Boomers, and also that GenXers/Boomers perceive Millennials as
needing more structure in the workplace compared to what Millennials believe they need. We
also investigated descriptive univariate data of Millennials’ and GenXers/Boomers’ responses to
our survey questions about group work versus individual work and about clarifying questions.
Univariate Data
Our univariate analysis examined Millennial Students’ expectation to ask clarifying
questions and to receive outlines of job expectations, as well as their preference for working in
groups or individually. We also examined GenXer/Boomer preference for employees to ask
clarifying questions and their perception of Millennial preference for working in groups or
individually.
When asked if they prefer working in groups, Millennials are divided mainly between
somewhat agree (43.4 %) and somewhat disagree (37.6%) but when asked if they prefer to
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work alone, a majority agree (85.9 %) (Figures 1 and 2). The majority of GenXers/Boomers
agree (78.8 %) that Millennials prefer to work in groups over working alone (69.5 %) (Figures 3
and 4). There is a gap between what Millennials report as their preference and what
GenXer/Boomer believe Millennials prefer.
Figure 1: Millennial Preference for Group Work (left)
Figure 2: Millennial Preference for Work Alone (right)
Figure 3: GenXer/Boomer Perception of Millennial Preference for Group Work (left)
Figure 4: GenXer/Boomer Perception of Millennial Preference for Working Alone (right)
According to our results, 85.5% of Millennials (students and alumni) expect to be able to
ask clarifying questions in the workplace. 98.2% of GenXers/Boomers prefer that employees
ask clarifying questions in the workplace (Figures 5 and 6). We found it interesting that no
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GenXer/Boomer strongly disagreed when asked if they prefer employees to ask clarifying
questions.
Figure 5: Millennial Expectation to Ask Clarifying Questions (left)
Figure 6: GenXer/Boomer Preference for Clarifying Questions (right)
Bivariate Data
Hypothesis 1: Millennials prefer more structure in the workplace compared to Generation X and
Baby Boomers.
In analyzing the results for our first hypothesis, we used a Chi-Square test of
independence to examine the importance of using each of our structure-providing items (postits, checklists and calendars/planners) for GenXers/Boomers, Millennial Alumni, and Millennial
Students. A Chi-Square test compared the importance of using post-it notes in organizing work
tasks. After collapsing the four response categories into agree and disagree, a significant
relationship was found (2(2)=6.430, p < 0.05) in the importance of using post-it notes. Millennial
Alumni were more likely to agree that using post-its is important for organizing their work tasks
(73.6%) than were Millennial Students (65.0%) and GenXers/Boomers (56.7%). Figure 7
illustrates the preference of all generations combined for the use of post-its in organizing work.
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Figure 7: Use of Post-its
A Chi-Square test of independence compared the importance of using checklists in
organizing work tasks for GenXers/Boomers, Millennial Alumni and Millennial Students. No
significant relationship was found (2(2)=2.541, p > 0.05). The importance of using checklists in
organizing work tasks appears to be independent of generational category (see Figure 8).
Figure 8: Use of Checklists
A Chi-Square test of independence compared the importance of using
calendars/planners in organizing work tasks for GenXers/Boomers, Millennial Alumni, and
Millennial Students. No significant relationship was found (2(2)=2.726, p > 0.05). The
importance of using calendars/planners in organizing work tasks appears to be independent of
generational category (see Figure 9).
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Figure 9: Use of Calendar/Planner
Hypothesis 2: Generation X and Baby Boomers perceive Millennials as needing more structure
in the workplace compared to what Millennial students and Millennials in the workplace believe
they need.
We analyzed descriptive statistics and found that our Need for Structure Index1 was
normally distributed. Therefore, we used a one-way ANOVA to compare the mean scores of the
Need for Structure Index for our three generational categories (GenXers/Boomers, Millennial
Alumni, and Millennial Students). A significant difference was found (F(2,448)=19.833, p <
0.05). We used Tukey’s HSD to determine the nature of the differences between the different
generations. The analysis revealed that there was a statistically significant difference between
GenXers/Boomers, Millennial Alumni, and Millennial Students (all p-values < 0.05). The table
below shows the mean differences of our Need for Structure Index for GenXers/Boomers,
Millennial Alumni, and Millennial Students. For example, it compares the mean score for
GenXers/Boomers to the mean score for both Millennial Alumni and Millennial Students. The
results indicate that GenXers/Boomers perceive Millennial Students as needing more structure
1
We included five items in our index: expectation for job outlines, reminder of deadlines, assistance in
starting work tasks, assistance in completing work tasks and asking many clarifying questions when
working new projects.
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than Millennial Students report themselves as needing. Millennial Students report themselves as
needing more structure than Millennial Alumni report needing (Table 1).
Table 1: Comparison Between Generations: Need for Structure Index
Tukey HSD
(J)Gen. Grouped
Mean
Std. Error
Difference (IJ)
GenXers/Boomers
Millennial Alumni
2.174*
.347
Millennial Students .853*
.282
Millennial Alumni
GenXers/Boomers -2.174*
.347
Millennial Students -1.321*
.297
Millennial Students
GenXers/Boomers -.853*
.282
Millennial Alumni
1.321*
.297
*The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level
(I)Gen. Grouped
Sig.
.000
.007
.000
.000
.007
.000
Discussion
We found no statistically significant difference in the importance of using
calendars/planners or checklists between Millennials and GenXers/Boomers; therefore,
hypothesis one was not fully supported. Our results showed that the majority of respondents,
regardless of generation, stated that they either “strongly agree” or “somewhat agree” that these
tools are important for organizing work tasks. These results indicate that Millennials prefer high
levels of structure, which supports Merlino’s (2009) finding that Millennial business students
express a preference for high levels of structure in a classroom setting. However, our results
also suggest that the use of these structure-providing tools is important for both younger and
older generations. In light of Alsop’s (2008) discussion of GenXers and Boomers being
“helicopter parents”, we speculate that the similarity between importance of calendars/planners
and checklists could be a result of parents needing to keep up with their children’s busy
schedules. In structuring their children’s lives perhaps they also need to structure their own lives
with calendars/planners and checklists. After we collapsed response categories to be “disagree”
and “agree,” we did find significant difference in the importance of post-its use across
19
generations. We speculate that this may be due to a greater use of electronic post-it programs
among the tech-savvy Millennial generation (Alsop 2008).
For hypothesis two, we found significant differences across all three generational
categories as indicated by the Need for Structure Index (five items: use of outlines, assistance
with tasks, clarifying questions, and deadlines). When we compared the GenXer/Boomer
perceptions of Millennials’ need for structure to Millennials’ reports of their own need for
structure, we found GenXer/Boomers believed Millennials needed more structure than the
Millennials reported needing. This conclusion aligns with prior claims that the older generations
believe Millennials need a lot of guidance in the workplace (Alsop 2008, Hershatter and Epstein
2010). In comparing the results of the two Millennial categories, we found Millennial Alumni
reported needing less structure than Millennial Students reported needing. We were not
expecting to find a significant difference in the values of the Need for Structure Indexes of the
two Millennial categories because they belong to the same generation. We speculate Millennial
Students may report needing more structure because they are accustomed to a structured
undergraduate experience (Merlino 2009) and because undergraduate “work” often involves
studying for multiple classes and keeping track of extra-curricular activities. While Millennial
Alumni may have a busy schedule, their work may be geared toward one or two larger goals. In
addition, because Millennial Alumni already have work experience, they may not need as much
assistance.
For employers and students entering the workplace, the results from our univariate
analysis may provide insight to how generations’ structural habits may affect the workplace. Our
data indicate that a majority of Millennials expect to be able to ask clarifying questions and to
receive an outline of job expectations, suggesting Millennial employees may be more
comfortable and productive if employers provide these resources. This supports literature that
discusses how Millennials desire clear objectives and experience stress when job expectations
are unclear (Kim et. al. 2009, Myers and Sadaghiani 2010, Hershatter and Epstiein 2010). Our
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results also indicate that while GenXers/Boomers believe that Millennials prefer working in
groups over working individually, we found that a majority of Millennial Students typically enjoy
working individually, whereas only half enjoy working in groups of two or more. Although not
aligned with Millennial preferences, the GenXer/Boomer results align with popular literature
claims that Millennials value collaboration and prefer group work (Alsop 2008). However, while
this indicates Millennial preferences, this has no bearing on whether they work individually or in
groups.
We also found interesting results related to clarifying questions. Our findings indicated
that a majority of our GenXer/Boomer sample preferred employees to ask clarifying questions.
In addition, they indicated that they did not feel that Millennials ask more questions than
necessary. These results contrasted with the feelings of one GenXer/Boomer informant who felt
his Millennial employees were not taking enough initiative because they were asking too many
clarifying questions. Millennial Students should also note a large majority of GenXers/Boomers
preferred employees to ask clarifying questions. They should keep in mind, however, our survey
did not indicate their job status and their direct feelings toward receiving clarifying questions.
While we focused on generational difference, we feel it is important to note individual
use of structure may vary as the individual ages and gains more experience. As employees
become more familiar and confident in their daily tasks, they may no longer feel the need to rely
on clarifying questions, outlines of job expectations, assistance in starting or completing tasks,
or reminders of deadlines.
Conclusion
Our research examined the question: Do older generations and younger generations use
structure differently in the workplace? Through our survey, we examined both the use of
structure for GenXer/Boomer and Millennial generations and the perceived “need for structure”
of the Millennial generation.
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Our results most strongly supported our second hypothesis--that GenXers and Boomers
perceive Millennials as needing more structure than Millennials report needing.
GenXers/Boomers, Millennial Alumni, and Millennial Students were all significantly different from
each other. GenXers/Boomers believed that Millennials needed more structure than Millennials
reported needing, and Millennial Alumni reported needing less structure than Millennial Students
reported needing. This suggests GenXers/Boomers see Millennials as needing more structure
than Millennials believe they need, and this gap in understanding may lead to tension between
generations in the workplace.
Our first hypothesis was only partially supported. While we found a statistically
significant difference across generations for the importance of using post-it notes, we did not
find a statistically significant difference across generations for the importance of using a
calendar/planner and checklists. Because the majority of our respondents agreed
calendars/planners and checklists were important to organizing their work tasks, our results
suggest generations are similar in some aspects of structure use; perhaps structure is important
in the workplace across all generations.
In light of our results, we would recommend employers consider providing extra structure
for newly hired Millennials. Employers might create a company calendar with deadlines for large
projects, provide post-it notes for employees, and set time aside for Millennials to ask clarifying
questions when starting a new project. Because Claps (2008) and Hershatter & Epstein (2010)
suggest Millennials fear risk-taking and often struggle when managers assign projects that do
not have explicit instructions or well-defined criteria, we believe Millennials may be more
productive if employers provide opportunities for extra structure in the workplace. We would also
recommend that career advising centers may want to emphasize realistic expectations for the
workplace. Although career advising centers may believe Millennial Students do not expect
outlines of job expectations, our results indicate Millennial Students anticipate this type of
structure in future jobs.
22
Our sample population--students and alumni from a small liberal arts college in the
Midwest--limits our ability to generalize our results beyond students and alumni of this college.
In addition, because our sample is college-educated, they are probably more likely to have
white-collar jobs. Their occupation might affect how the respondents interact with Millennials,
and their level of education might affect how they might read the questions. Our survey length
may have discouraged people from taking the survey because of the time it would take to
complete. Because we combined our survey with two other research groups, we had to limit the
number of questions asked, which limited the depth of our examination.
Future research could examine whether Millennials use more technology in structuring
their work time than older generations. We believe that Millennials may be using more
electronic-based structure than GenXers/Boomers. In addition, future studies could expand our
inquiry into Millennial enjoyment of group work versus individual work. This may enable
researchers to examine the effectiveness for both work methods.
23
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